Shadow and Substance
by winterwolf610
Summary: Sarah Williams, Champion of the Labyrinth, seems to be spending yet another Valentine's Day alone but this time, as Sarah buys herself a ticket on singles cruise, the Goblin King is intent on keeping his promise to spin her Valentine evenings. One-shot. Complete.


Disclaimer: Characters not mine and I make no money off this. Originally posted on my DA account.

Summary: Sarah Williams, Champion of the Labyrinth, seems to be spending yet another Valentine's Day alone but this time, as Sarah buys herself a ticket on singles cruise, the Goblin King is intent on keeping his promise to spin her Valentine evenings. One-shot.

It's only forever, not long at all…

The beautiful brunette woman pondered that line as she pulled her luggage down the dock. Her piercing eyes took in the scene before her. Salty breezes gently blew in her face. Finally she caught sight of what she was searching for.

It was the smallest cruise ship she'd ever seen. Then again, it was the only cruise ship she'd ever seen. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is." She shook her head as if to clear it and set forth. "Come on feet," she mused to herself. Having come all the way to the West Coast, the least she could do was making it to the end of the dock.

As she handed over her documents to the man next to the gangplank, she paused to look at the ship again and choked. The painted on the side of the boat was THE GOBLIN QUEEN.

"Are you alright, Miss Williams?" the man asked.

"Um yes thank you," she said sheepishly as he handed back her papers.

"Welcome aboard the Goblin Queen!" he said cheerily.

It had to be a coincidence. The man was nothing like the dark figure who still haunted her dreams ten years later. He was short and stocky, with tan skin, grey eyes and brown hair. Nothing like him.

A helpful employee of the cruise line carried her luggage to her room. It was a perfectly ordinary room. It was a nice enough room to suit her. The large, clean tub caught her attention. A card with the evening's activities told her she had plenty of time before so she began to fill the tub and pour in the complementary bath soak. It smelled enticingly like cinnamon and jasmine and something familiar that she couldn't quite name. She undressed and got in.

Her mind wandered. Ten years ago to the day she conquered the Labyrinth that belonged to a particular Goblin King and recovered her baby brother Toby from his clutches. And now, Sarah Williams, who had passed through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered and fought her way to the castle beyond the goblin city to take back the child he had stolen, was now on a singles cruise to Alaska that promised romantic evenings of stargazing and all kinds of other supposedly "sensuous, spontaneous sea-adventures." She had to laugh at herself.

It was worth a try at least. An entire decade had passed. Either she had dreamed the whole adventure or they had all forgotten about her. Hoggle, Ludo, Sir Didymus and the others, especially their rather virile king, hadn't spoken to her in at least eight years. She kept telling herself it was only an adolescent fantasy of hers. She even half-believed it.  
She'd "grown up and gotten a real job": she was an accountant. It paid the bills but it didn't require much imagination. It also wasn't exactly the best way to meet a real man. So at her boss' urging, she took two weeks off to go on this silly cruise. It was February 1st and the two week cruise would end on Valentine's Day. She was willing to give it a try.  
It's just the name of the ship threw her. She could have sworn when she purchased her ticket, the name was listed as The Ocean Queen, not The Goblin Queen. Again she shook her head to clear the thought. Surely she was mistaken.

She dried off and dressed without incident. Picking up the activities card again, she saw that a reception called "Greetings& Get Together!" was in the ship's grand ballroom in half an hour and "Starlit Speed Dating" was up on the deck after that. She did her hair and make-up to look nice but she didn't want to look over done so she kept it light and simple.  
She ascended the stairs to the grand ballroom and marveled at the sight. She had to admit, she'd expected corny cherubs and swans but the room, in fact, had a rather romantic air about it. Lush dark red velvet curtains covered the wall and an elegant and elaborately patterned wooden floor were the last thing she expected to see on a cruise ship. Tasteful vases of red roses were arranged about the room. The soft lighting had the effect of candlelight and an inviting fireplace stood on the other end of the room. Loveseats strategically dotted the perimeter and soft music was playing. Other passengers were already mingling and sipping some kind of pink punch. It was quite a scene.

She stood transfixed at the top of the stairs, scanning the crowd. Amid the chatting crowd, she saw no sign of the man she half-expected to see. Unsure if she was more relieved or disappointed, she descended the stairs and joined her fellow passengers and even accepted a glass of peach punch from a handsome stranger with dark hair and a dazzling smile.  
A buff, tan blond man took the stage and got the crowd's attention. "Welcome," he said, "to the love boat, The Goblin Queen! Why goblins you ask? Because they're mischievous and so are we." He winked. "My name is Brian and I will be your emcee, host and matchmaker while you're here. Are you all ready to find the love of your life or at least a Valentine?" Whistles, hoots and cheering answered him. He flashed them a perfect smile and continues, "Well then, let's get going!" With that, the music started playing dance music and he leapt off the stage and stopped smilingly with his hand extended in front of Sarah. "Care to dance?" he grinned. She couldn't help but accept.

After dancing with Brian and several other attractive men, she was having a wonderful time. She almost didn't want to go up on the deck to stargaze.

When she got up there, it was beautiful. The ship had turned off as many of its lights as it was safe to so many stars were visible. They were far enough offshore that all they could see was sea and sky. It was breathtakingly beautiful. She had never seen so many stars. Oddly, the stars seemed, to Sarah's eyes at least, to move. Brian began to point out different constellations and talk about astrological compatibility.

After several rounds of speed dating, Sarah decided to head back to her room. A few other passengers were already heading to try out their beds with their new 'friends.' She smiled and shook her head, "Let them have their fun," she thought, but that certainly was not what she was after.

When she got back to her room, shut the door and switched on the light, the first thing she noticed was that her bed was covered in glitter and heart shaped chocolates. She scooped one up and unwrapped it. She popped it in her mouth as she read the accompanying note she found on her pillow. It read in flowing script, "I move the stars for no one".  
Instinctively, she whirled around but there was no one there. She checked her room: under her bed, behind her curtains, in her bathroom, in her closet and everywhere else she could think of. Nothing. Not even an owl feather. She turned to look out her porthole window. No one. But as she turned back, she gasped.

But it was just her own shadow. She put her hand on her chest to steady her rapidly beating heart. Unsurprisingly, she had a hard time falling asleep after that. She fell into a troubled dream, recounting that painful moment when she had defeated him, if you could call it that. Maybe she was dodging around that she had rejected him. But she was so young then. But then again, why was he back now, ten years later? Was he even back? Questions like these kept popping into her head.

Groggily, she opened her eyes and then sat bolt upright. "Jareth!" she exclaimed.  
It must have been early because it was still dark, but there was no mistaking the figure that faced her. Regally draped over a throne-like chaise-lounge which certainly hadn't been there the night before was none other than Jareth the Goblin King. He looked as gorgeous as ever, but if anything, he looked…bored. Now she understood when he'd said, "Your eyes can be so cruel." With her exclamation, he had noticed she was awake and was looking her up and down with what might have been disapproval.

Somehow this is not how she thought their reunion would be. She'd never even considered the possibility that he'd be angry with her. That thought frightened her. But now a mocking smile came over his face.

"Tsk tsk. Is that anyway to greet the Goblin King? I'm disappointed in you, Sarah." His eyes flashed dangerously. He looked her up and down and licked his lips.

Suddenly she was aware of her vulnerable position: wearing a revealing negligee, still in bed with messed up hair and he was staring at her. She blushed crimson and pulled the covers up a little higher. He only laughed.

"Come on Sarah. That will not avail you," he smirked. "And you certainly weren't that modest out on the dance floor."

If it were possible to turn a deeper shade of crimson, she did. She tried to distract from that fact by changing the subject. "So did you make a royal donation to the owners in order to get them to change the ship's name?" she baited.

But he replied simply, "No, I just bogged one and threatened the rest."

"That's horrible!"

He laughed. "Good to see you're still my Sarah."

"I was never your Sarah!"

"Oh but you were." His look was almost predatory now. Even though he wasn't moving, she imagined him to be circling her, moving in for the kill.

"As I recall," she said icily, "I was the one who defeated your Labyrinth."

"Oh, really?" He began to contact-juggle one of his crystals.

"Really," she said assured him flatly, "Have you already forgotten or do those pants cut off the circulation to your brain?"

He chuckled. "Now, now Sarah."

"Why are you here, Goblin King?" she demanded, her fierce eyes meeting his. "It's been ten years. Why now? Why here? And what have you been doing?"

"Rebuilding of course. You left my kingdom in quite a bit of disarray. As for why now, it's been ten years to the day and this is where you happened to be. This ridiculous 'love boat' wouldn't have been my first choice of where to reappear to you but here we are. If I may say so, you seem to be doing well. You look lovely and I'm quite sure you set a few hearts on fire out on the dance floor." His smirk turned into a sort of frown. "You even drank peach punch." He had such a peculiar look on his face now.

"Surprised, Goblin King?" she taunted.

"No hard feelings then?" he asked as he arched an eyebrow.

"Not for that particular episode. Others, however, I may still hold against you. What about you, any hard feelings?"

"Only one," he said mischievously.

She was about to ask, until she noticed his criminally tight pants were pointing at her. Her face took on a very crimson hue. "I guess that counts as a hard feeling."

"I told you once upon a time that I'd spin you Valentine evenings."

"It isn't even Valentine's Day!" she protested.

"Are you sure?"

She checked her phone and every other possible thing in the room that would tell her the date. "You dirty cheat! You reordered time! I lost two whole weeks!"

"I couldn't very well leave you to the mercies of this infernal 'love boat' and its hordes of desperate men who would do depraved things with a young girl like you."

"Look who's calling the kettle black and I'm not a girl anymore."

"You aren't a woman yet though."

"How dare you! I am too!" she protested.

"'It's not fair!'" he mocked. "You haven't been with a man yet and you're, what, 26, 27?"

"Shut up, Jareth," she growled though clenched teeth.

Without her realizing it, he'd circled behind her to whisper in her ear, "You know you want it. Who else have you been saving yourself for?"

She turned away from him to collect her thoughts. She didn't want to admit it aloud, but she had been waiting for him. She'd gone on this cruise because she'd all but given up on him. But it was here that he appeared to her. What kind of game was he playing?

"Why are you here Jareth?" she spat.

"Such venom. Tsk tsk," he grinned. "Why do you think I'm here?"

That caught her off-guard. "Jareth, I think your pants are giving that away."

"I can't deny what I want," he laughed, "but that's not the only reason why I'm here. Do you think I show myself again to everyone who wishes away a child?"

"It's been ten years, Jareth. I've moved on," she said coldly.

"Have you really, precious?" he purred.

She quickly looked down and away to avoid the triumphant smirk that was surely spreading across the Goblin King's smug face. Instead, a firm but gentle hand brought her face upwards into a tender kiss. As the kiss naturally finished, he pulled away just enough to study and savor her expression. To both of their surprise, she pulled him into a fierce kiss, pouring all of her need and longing into it, hoping he would understand what she couldn't bring herself to say aloud just yet. He did.

Gently, he eased her in the direction of her bed without breaking the kiss. They couldn't get out of their clothes fast enough for their needs. Words weren't needed. They both understood. As his burning passion met her willing tenderness, words couldn't express the feelings they were experiencing together. Gasps and heavy breathing from the other were all each needed to hear. When release finally came, both felt their hunger deepen rather than be sated. An eternity of this would not be enough. But then again, it's only forever. Not long at all…


End file.
